The interior walls and ceilings of many modern buildings are constructed from sheets of "drywall" or plaster board. The seams between adjacent sheets of drywall must be sealed with drywall tape. Typically, construction workers will also apply a layer of plaster or "mud" to the seams, or to any other uneven sections of the drywall sheets, in order to ensure that the finished wall has a smooth surface. Drywall "mud" is usually carried by the construction worker in a rectangular mud pan receptacle measuring approximately 13".times.4".times.4" in size. Typically the construction worker holds the mud pan in one hand and applies the mud with a trowel held in the other hand.
The above-described procedure for applying drywall mud is often inconvenient and sometimes dangerous, especially when the worker is standing on a ladder or scaffold. Since both of the worker's hands are occupied with the mud pan and trowel, the worker is not able to safely brace himself against an adjacent wall or the like at the work site. Drywall installation can become even more unwieldy if the worker attempts to apply the seam tape while simultaneously balancing the mud pan and trowel in one hand, or between the worker's legs. As a consequence, it is usually necessary to set the mud pan and trowel down and apply the drywall tape and mud in two separate operations. This is a safer procedure, but it increases drywall installation time.
Some belt-mountable drywall tape dispensers are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,738, which issued to McLaughlin on 20 Jun., 1967, discloses a tape dispenser and creaser which includes a first bracket for holding a tape roll and a second bracket for releasably engaging a mud pan. One drawback of the McLaughlin device is that the tape roll may in some instances obstruct access to the mud pan. Further, the McLaughlin device cannot be conveniently folded to a collapsed position when not in use.
Accordingly, the need has arisen for a collapsible bracket for supporting a mud pan in a handy position for use by construction workers when installing drywall sheet boards.